High-profile visits by US President Barack Obama and Catholic Pope Francis were not enough to stop a five-year drop in tourist arrivals as sector earnings shrunk by 2.9 per cent to Sh84.6 billion in 2015.
Sustained effects of terror attacks, concerns over the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and travel advisories from key source markets dampened income from the country’s key foreign exchange earner.
The 2015 revenue drop was, however, marginal compared to 7.3 per cent recorded in 2014 to highlight some recovery resulting from the international conferences.
“The sector’s suppressed performance was mainly due to security concerns, particularly in the coastal region, and negative travel advisories from some European source markets,” said Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
